


A Duller Kind of Magic

by GirlWithTheMousyHair



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:53:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6279925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlWithTheMousyHair/pseuds/GirlWithTheMousyHair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seeing the the Lady Sif sitting alone, Loki decides to entertain her. But who knows where simple magic may end up leading.</p><p>Find more chapters here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6279928/chapters/14389762 (don't ask me how I duplicated this one. I have no idea).</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Duller Kind of Magic

It was late. They had celebrated well, and though Sif had restrained herself to only two glasses of mead, others had not been so circumspect. 

She sat alone at the table. The remaining carousers were too engrossed in their own fun to notice her. Indeed, Thor sat opposite her at the long bench, but for all the heed he was paying her they may as well have been in different rooms. In different realms, even. No, Thor's attention was entirely consumed by the wenches who surrounded him, cackling and spilling wine, faces red as freshly-picked cherries. Even as Sif watched, one of them tumbled into Thor's lap and he roared with drunken delight, before launching himself to his feet, sweeping up the hapless girl in one arm, and thundering off towards his bedchamber. The gaggle of serving girls followed him, clutching each other and howling laughter as Thor swatted at the skirts of the girl he was carrying. 

Sif remained still, only her eyes following the spectacle. She was too well trained to give anything away outwardly. Inwardly, her heart felt like a hard flint, dropped into a deep well. There seemed no limit to how far it could sink. She took a sip from the near-empty glass in her hand, cursing the prickling of tears in her traitor eyes.

'My Lady, you seem pensive.' 

If the voice startled her, she did not show it.

'My Lord Loki,' she replied, not turning to face him. 'I am merely weary from the battle.' 

From the corner of her eye, she saw him sink into place beside her. 

'You fought bravely,' he said, his tone dry. 'I am sure the celebration did not do your work justice'. 

Now she did turn to face him, searching for mockery in his face. She saw none, but she knew of old that it could not be far beneath the surface. It was his nature. 

'Thank you, my Lord,' she answered, seeking shelter in formality. 'It is my duty, and my pleasure, to fight for Asgard.' 

'But at what price to yourself?' Loki asked, his eyes glancing across the bruising that even the most artful concealment could not hide, dropping to take in her scarred knuckles, returning to meet her gaze with a look that seemed for all the worlds genuinely concerned. 

She slid her hands under the table, out of sight. 

'There is no price too high.' She sounded like a slave, broken and obediently parroting her training, rather than a proud warrior. And she was proud. Of course she was. 

She was looking down at the table, but she felt Loki's eyes on her. Damn him, he was getting under her skin. She was feeling sorrowful enough without his mind games.

'If you'll excuse me,' she said, somewhat abruptly, 'I have earned some rest.' She tried to find some of her usual defiance to put into her words, but her reserves were gone. She began to stand, once again feeling the threat of tears. She would not cry. She certainly would not cry here, in public, in front of Loki. Doubtless nothing would give him greater pleasure...

Her thought was interrupted. 'But stay, Lady Sif. I have something to show you.' 

Surprised into it, she looked directly at him again. He craned slightly, as she half-stood over him. Then he smiled. Not the crooked smile she'd seen on those lips a thousand times, when he was readying himself to play some cruel trick on his brother. A real smile. It smoothed out his face, made him look younger. She debated for a moment, but curiosity got the better of her, and she regained her seat. 

His smile widened. Truly, he looked like the teenager she'd once known. 

'Now look,' he said, producing from somewhere a bronze coin. This in itself was a curiosity - currency wasn't a thing of necessity with the warriors three. This one looked otherwordly to her untrained eye. He spun it deftly across his knuckles and tucked it away in his palm, with such surprising speed that Sif laughed delightedly without meaning to. This pleased him, though by now his guileless smile was being replaced with another face. 

He held the coin up in front of her, gripped between his thumb and forefinger. 'Here, a coin of the realm.' 

He passed his right hand in front of the coin, palming it smoothly, then displayed his empty left palm to her, as though to prove the disappearance of the coin. She smiled indulgently. He swept both palms together, now showing the empty right hand. The trickery was basic, and obvious, but charming in its simplicity. 

'But wait...' he said, a mock frown crossing his face. He reached towards her suddenly, and her heart fluttered in a way she only barely registered. She froze, betraying no alarm, but poised herself for combat. It was pure instinct, and when the tips of Loki's fingers brushed against her ear she was glad of it. If she hadn't steadied herself so firmly, she may have flinched away from his cool touch. She felt oddly light inside as he withdrew his hand, the coin once again held firmly in his fingers. 

'You had it the whole time,' he said, now feigning surprise. She laughed once more, surprised at herself. 

'I will not have it said I'm a common thief,' Loki concluded, and offered her the coin with a bow of his head. 

'Nothing about you could be said to be common, Loki,' she said, not thinking about her words, as she took what he offered. She studied it with great interest - 'a coin of the realm' he'd said, but which realm could this hail from? She marveled at the intricate carving work, at the worn edges and the heavy centre of it. Several moments had passed before she realised they had been sitting in silence. She raised her eyes from the metal in front of her to find Loki watching. 

'Thank you,' she said, belatedly, then tried to recover herself. 'It is a simple trick for a conjurer such as yourself, is it not?' It was far more familiar to tease Loki than it was to sit in companionable silence with him. 

He seemed less than thrilled with her appraisal. 

'Yes, well... I wished to learn a different kind of magic.' He held out a peremptory hand, requesting the return of his prop, but she held on to it a moment longer, studying its curves, before reluctantly dropping it into his palm. He did not rise straight away. 

'You like the coin?' he asked, in a softer tone than before. 

'I do,' she replied. 'I haven't had much chance to observe the customs of...' she hesitated, before making a guess... 'Midgard. It is interesting to see how they build their society.'

His eyes had twinkled as she named the other realm, and she felt sure she'd guessed wrongly. But a moment later she was corrected. 

'Well done, Lady Sif. You have a keen eye.' She gave a stiff nod, not wanting to admit that it had been sheer guesswork on her part. Loki paused a second. 

'I have a fine collection of coins,' he said, slowly. She felt that flutter once more, and this time recognised it for what it was. 'Would you care to see them?' 

'Perhaps,' she replied, equally slowly. She had thought this feeling was reserved for one man only. There had been men, of course, but only once before had she felt precisely this way. She looked into Loki's eyes, wondering. Did she see some resemblance in him that was causing her to have such thoughts? 

Loki's eyes were as glittering and fathomless as Thor's were pale and shallow. There was no familial echo between the brothers. One broad and fair and boisterous, and the other - the one sitting so close to her now - lean and dark and brooding. They were nothing alike. And yet...

'How did you come about this collection?' she asked, for the sake of something to say. Those gleaming eyes seemed to smile at the futility of her question. 

'I always like to bring a souvenir from my travels,' he said, carelessly. She supposed she was meant to be impressed by his worldliness. In truth, she was a little. She had travelled herself, of course, but to a warrior, every realm was the same. There was no call to do anything but fight, no time to spend in exploration even had she wanted to. Occasionally they would hold their victory feast at the site of the battle, and now and again one of the warriors would slope off with a willing serving woman or man - Sif was not above venting the lust of battle as any other warrior sometimes did. But as to seeing what life was like in these other, strange places? She had no idea. 

'Well, my Lady?' Loki was asking her. 'Do you want to see?'

She did. So help her, she really did.


End file.
